The Best Cities For Online Dating

There's lots to do if you're single and live in Boston. You can search for your soulmate at one of the area's 70 museums or 200 art galleries. Go buy someone a drink at a bar in a hip neighborhood like Jamaica Plain. Or mingle with Red Sox fans at Fenway Park.

It turns out, though, that Bean Town singles who are serious about dating might be best served staying home and turning on their computer. Boston is the best city in America for online dating, according to data provided by OkCupid, a free matching service. They analyzed their 1.51 million active users to find the cities where the highest percentage of the adult population had active profiles on the site within the last year.

Boston's small size and condensed population also means that finding people electronically offers a geographic advantage. "Maybe your perfect match is 20 minutes outside of Boston," says Laurie Davis, founder and CEO of eflirtexpert.com, an online dating coaching service. "The city itself is a small part of Massachusetts. So in Boston people tend to do wider searches, to see who lives within 40 miles instead of 10."

Washington, D.C., follows Boston closely, coming in at No. 2 on the list. The federal government is the city's biggest employer, resulting in a lot of temporary posts, and a singles population that refreshes itself every four years or so.

"Each new administration brings in a new batch of transplants looking to unwind and commiserate," says Yagan.

San Francisco, in third place, is a city known for its young, tech-savvy population. But it's also flush with scenic walks and intimate settings for socializing. Yagan suggests that dating in general is more popular, with online daters motivated to find partners with which to enjoy the city. "San Francisco offers some of the best first-date venues anywhere," he says.

Every city in the top 10 has a thriving music scene, nationally known cultural attractions, and a wealth of meeting spots for soul-mate-seekers. So why are so many single people in these hot spots looking for love online?

One answer is in sheer numbers. Nearly every city on this list has a single population above the national average. Among the top 10, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Detroit have the highest percentage of unmarried adults over the age of 15, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, each with more than half of the adult population single. Nine of our top 10 cities have a single population above the U.S. national average of 46%.

In these cities, the large numbers of singles may mean more chances to meet people, but it also means more competition--and more reasons to seek out other venues for connection, like online dating sites.

"It can be a quick, easy way to socialize, especially for people who have really taxing careers, which most people in large cities do," says Davis. "It's just really time efficient to date online."

I'm a reporter who has worked in business journalism for the past few years. In August of 2009 I joined Forbes to cover the residential housing market, luxury real estate and all things fancy-house related. I also compare economic statistics across cities for our data-driven...